


Wings in Trio

by Tallihensia



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Genre: AU, Adventure, Birds, Case Fic, Drama, Established Relationship, Mild Angst, Multi, OT3, Shifters, Wings, wing fic, world mixing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-09 09:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8885797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallihensia/pseuds/Tallihensia
Summary: A mission to retrieve a prototype goes a little awry, but as UNCLE's best, the trio can cope with that.  Wings are spread, missions are flown, and with a little adventure in the mix, all will be well.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [InNovaFertAnimus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InNovaFertAnimus/gifts).



> For InNovaFertAnimus who requested OT3 Wing Fic. It's a little more shifter than pure Wing Fic, but there are the wings. ^^ There was also a side request for one of the trio having difficulty with the wings – again, I didn't quite get the exact prompts, but I did play with the concept.
> 
> This story really wanted to be a lot longer than it is. 
> 
> Note – anatomy shifts in this world aren't a one-to-one, so half-forms for the winged don't take away arms and hands, but add on wings to the back. Likewise, the hoofed shift up for torsos and arms, and some of the others as they like. Hands are just too useful. Shifting to half-forms is a blending of best parts, not simply stuck in the middle. (plus, wing fic. it might be shifter, but it's still wing fic.)

## Trio in Wings

Napoleon opened the door and scanned the interior with a quick check before he called out in cheerful greeting, "Hello, my lovelies! I have returned."

His companions rolled their eyes and returned to their work without comment.

After closing and locking the door, Napoleon took a moment to study them. He did this often, and neither of them paid him any more attention than normal, steadily going about their self-assigned tasks. He loved watching them, his self-appointed flock. Solitary birds, each of them, well used to going their own ways, but there was something to be said for the chosen companionship as well. They were partners in their work, but if any of them had truly wanted to go it alone again, they would have been allowed to. Instead, they worked and played together with equal fierceness. Napoleon was quite satisfied with his flock.

Illya was doing maintenance on his guns. He was in full human form, as he often was, his large human hands skillfully taking apart the guns and oiling and cleaning them before reassembling them. One complete gun was on the edge of the table for quick access, and Illya had been holding it in hand as Napoleon had come through the door. It spoke of the measure of their trust that he had put it down again so quickly after Napoleon's greeting. 

Personally, Napoleon would have been in half-form, as he was now, to do that much fiddly work, but that was Illya. He rarely was in anything other than full form one way or the other, and mostly stayed human. Even after a month in this city while they did their investigations, there was almost nobody they talked to who even knew what Illya's other form was. This generally had the effect of making people even more nervous and apprehensive around him – they all could tell Illya was an apex predator, and never seeing his other form led to all sorts of speculation. People often forgot that birds were predators too.

Gaby, on the other hand, was more like Napoleon in her ways, if a lot sneakier about it. Currently, she was working on something that looked vaguely like an alternator but was probably the makings of a bomb. She was between forms, mixing and matching as suited her best, with her fingers narrowed and partially clawed while still staying human flexible with opposing thumbs for gripping. Her wings had come out along her back, spreading open not for any useful purpose but just as an expression of her satisfaction with what she was tinkering with. Sparrow wings, her second form – not her true self. It was the one she had made for herself to hide her incredible, beautiful self from the masses who didn't understand. Worn-torn Germany was not the country for an exotic hummingbird to grow up in. A sparrow had been much safer, all the way around.

The forms one had were always one human, one animal, from birth. The human form followed standard heritage, parental traits handed down from one generation to the next. The animal form, however, was variable. Often it was heritage mixed with regional influences. Illya's eagle owl form was Russian through and through, and from the little Napoleon could find out, his mother had been an Ural owl. Napoleon's Steller's jay, however, owed nothing to heritage and was more likely attributable to his birth on the American continent. Gaby's rufous hummingbird was the rarest of forms – one that had nothing to do with heritage nor region, yet found and defined her anyhow. It was a matter of debate whether people's animal forms defined their personality from birth, or if people grew into them from expectations. Napoleon tended to lean a little on the birth side, especially given cases like Gaby's, where nobody she grew up with even knew what she was and there had been no expectations. 

While there was ever and only one human form, some people could develop second animal forms, such as Gaby's sparrow. Napoleon had a second form himself, as did most war veterans – people generally were not born and bred for fighting, but were trained into it, and part of the training included forms for fighting. Napoleon rarely shifted into it after the war, leaving it as thoroughly behind as most of his life. His natural form was the one he was the most comfortable in. He could, though, still bring his war form up as needed – which was when things went amok. Sadly, it was becoming more often now that he'd partnered with Illya and Gaby in UNCLE. Creating a new life out of bits of his old.

A spy, but not a war vet, Illya didn't have a second form, and never expressed any desire for one. For as little as he used his natural form, it wasn't entirely surprising. Napoleon wondered, though, if Illya wouldn't be happier with a different shift. Personally, he loved Illya's form, both winged and human, and didn't understand the reluctance to be other than human, but he and Gaby were working on it.

As Napoleon continued to hover and watch, Illya looked up, his eyes narrowing. "Something, Magpie?"

Shifting a little more human so he could play the expression, Napoleon's response was to let his grin cover his face, at both the question and the nickname. He wasn't a magpie, and the nickname had originally been a derisive comment on Napoleon's rude and thieving ways (per Illya – Napoleon took exception to the 'rude' part). As they worked together, though, it had mutated to affection and amusement and simply another name, just like his own nickname of 'Russian Wolf' for Illya – not what Illya was, but early on used to rile him up, and their common nickname of 'Sparrow' for Gaby – only the surface, never the truth.

With the question, Illya had shown that he'd figured out there was more to Napoleon's watching them than the usual. Proving, as usual, his ability to read Napoleon with next to no external clues. It was one of the mysteries of his partner and one of the things Napoleon loved about him. He wasn't, however, going to give in immediately.

At the question, Gaby looked up. Her eyes narrowed in a way similar to how Illya's just had, the partial shift into sparrow notwithstanding. They really spent too much time with each other if they were picking up each other's mannerisms. "Solo?" she repeated the question with a threat of authority lacing through the words.

Still in partial bird form, not fully human, Napoleon fluffed his feathers a little, showing off his brilliant blue plumage, and lifting his dark crest. "What makes you think I have something?"

Illya abandoned his weapons and stood, his tall human form big within the room. He took a step to the side to clear himself room from the table, but otherwise didn't approach, waiting.

Gaby likewise stood, her wings melting from their common brown-speckled sparrow wings into the exotic multi-colored hues and shape of a hummingbird. She rose into the air on those wings, as they beat a dance so quickly the movement could barely be seen.

It never failed to fascinate Napoleon, how Gaby moved. He was the only one of them to have seen native hummingbirds in their natural habitat, and yet still, he marveled. Hummingbirds defied nature, and so did Gaby. He was a bird himself, Napoleon _knew_ how wings and flying worked normally, both in the native animals, and in their own mixed world where animal and human forms shifted as they would. The way Gaby hovered and darted was in no way like any other bird in the world, and he loved her for it. When he had told her about the native hummingbirds, and how fierce and fearless they were – describing how he'd seen one hovering inches in front of a cat's nose and the cat just sitting there making frustrated sounds because the cat _knew_ from experience that it couldn't catch the hummingbird – Gaby had been relieved. Finally, somebody who didn't see her as simply exotic and weird, if pretty, but somebody who _understood_ what she could be. She'd kept to her mission, but ever after that, Napoleon had a special place in her heart, and she was freer around him than she was with anybody, even, sometimes, Illya, who wasn't ever impressed by anybody's other self.

"I might," Napoleon said with a twinkle, "I just _might_ happen to have," he pulled an envelope out of his breast pocket, "an invitation to a very exclusive nature party."

Gaby gasped. Illya blinked. 

"Ravillo? Oh, Magpie!" Gaby darted forward in one of those moves against physics, her wings rotating and sweeping her forward without looking as if they could, a rapid move that was faster than she could walk.

Napoleon was ready for this, however, and moved the envelope down and slightly behind him as he turned to one side. Leaving her hovering just in front of him, her wings a blur in the air.

Napoleon laughed. "Ravillo," he confirmed, raising his crest and fluffing his feathers again. It was a coup to be proud of, gaining the invitation. "For myself and a guest."

The envelope was slipped from his fingers.

Outraged, Napoleon turned to see Illya with the envelope, having snuck behind him while Napoleon was distracted. Such a large man should not be so silent, but he was when he wanted to be, just like his other self. It was a trait he normally used upon the bad guys, instead of his partner. But Illya and Gaby often teamed up against Napoleon. To be fair, it was as often the other way – Napoleon and Gaby against Illya, or he and Illya... well, 'against' was probably not the word for facing Gaby, but 'united' might be.

Illya held the envelope up. Gaby darted forward to grab it, then she flew aloft near to the ceiling as she opened it.

"Hey," Napoleon frowned briefly at Illya, but the expression slid involuntarily into a smile. He turned away to hide the smile and walked near to Gaby, reaching up a slightly clawed hand to gently clasp her ankle. Illya followed and stood close enough behind Napoleon that he could feel his breath. It was a comfortable tableau. 

"It's not stolen," Gaby observed with a smirk her in voice as she examined the invitation.

"Of course not," Napoleon lightly objected, not particularly offended. With the security the target had, only a direct match with party and invitation would work. Napoleon had been working for weeks to obtain one, and even he himself hadn't been sure he could do it. The Conte was extremely paranoid. But he did like his nature parties, and Napoleon was exotic enough to have caught his attention.

"Enter the Ravillo Nature Party, hosted on Friday the 17th. Come as you are. Plus one Guest." Gaby read out the relevant parts of the invitation, delight clear in her voice. "Plan A is on!"

"With a few modifications," Illya rumbled in his gruff voice. "Very good, Magpie."

Napoleon fluffed his feathers again, pleased with his flock's reactions.

Illya gently ran his fingers through Napoleon's feathers, half petting, half preening. Napoleon leaned back into Illya's bulk. In any normal bird, this would be a vulnerable position with his wings trapped. Since Napoleon had pulled them in as he'd walked into the rental, it was only a shiver on his senses, and knowing it was Illya behind him made it quite a different shiver. 

Tugging on Gaby's ankle, Napoleon brought her down to their level, though her wings never stopped, and she could fly off any moment she desired.

She allowed it, and came forward to kiss him when low enough to do so. It was no simple peck on the lips, but a deep and extremely rewarding kiss, with enough intensity that Napoleon lost focus. It was safe to do so, though, with Illya's strong back behind him and arms supporting him. How things had changed for this once solitary bird, reliant only on himself and his wits. He still lived by his wits and his abilities, but he now had Illya and Gaby to back him up, and that was something that couldn't ever be under-valued.

Eventually, the three split apart, reluctant but determined. They moved to the central table, and Gaby and Napoleon fetched the plans and paperwork while Illya packed up his guns and cleared the surface. They moved two more stools up so the three could sit around the table comfortably.

"Now," Napoleon separated out the aerial drawings of the former castle, now a mansion for the rich. "With the invitation, our entrance is assured. No more sneaking through security. On the minus side, a lot of guests to maneuver around and more security brought in to handle them. On the plus side, a lot of guests to confuse things and security that won't be as familiar with the routines."

Gaby contributed the floorplans inside. "The plans are in the safe. The prototype is currently in the library. Will it be closed to guests, or will it be moved? Our objective is both." Enemies could do a lot of damage with the new emitter, and while the plans were an absolute necessity, if they took the plans and left the prototype, the bad guys could easily reverse-engineer it again. Plus, the prototype had been modified from the original, and they weren't sure how much was in the plans. So they were supposed to get both.

"Problem," Illya rumbled, bringing out his own set of papers. "Today I got the wall security detail. They have spectrum scanner."

There was an immediate stillness and quiet from the other two before Napoleon let out a low whistle and leaned back almost casually. For those who knew him, it was a prelude to either fighting or deep contemplation.

Gaby shook her head. "Those are expensive. He's rich, yes, but that takes the budget of a country to obtain!" 

"Countries have to pass budgets and get approval," Napoleon pointed out. "Would-be dictators and tycoons don't. I'm... well, I guess I'm not shocked. Just disappointed."

"This is not a relationship, Magpie." Illya looked briefly upward in response to Napoleon's understatement. "Need to modify Plan A."

The three quietly thought about it. The initial plan had been for Napoleon to steal both plans and prototype, then hide them with his shift. The whole point of a nature party was to come in their non-human forms and to stay that way for the duration – come as you are, and leave as the same. It was incredibly rude for anybody to shift human during a nature party. 

That made it the perfect time for Napoleon to exercise his skills. In addition to giving them an entrance to the location, the very point of the nature party was such that guards would not make them shift to leave, which gave an opportunity for Napoleon to slip the plans and prototype out unnoticed. 

It was in their nature to be able to take some things back and forth with them as they shifted between shapes, if the items weren't of a shifting nature themselves. Jewelry usually shifted with them, depending on personal preference and skill of the maker – necklaces could become collars, and rings to bracelets. Clothes adapted to half-forms to the point where they would be hindrance and then were pocketed into the shift. Only the poorest folk without a maker in their midst had clothes that wouldn't shift. Other items that were not maker-made depended on the nature of the item and the skill of the shifter. Paper and other plant-based items were usually okay for most people, as long as they were not too large. Metal and mechanical things were harder. 

Napoleon was a skilled shifter and an experienced thief. The plans would be no problem for him at all. The prototype would be harder... but he could do it.

A full-spectrum scanner, however... that, he couldn't get around. It was essentially a metal detector that could scan even the shift forms. It couldn't tell what was hidden, but it would be able to pick up that something was. They would be stopped before they ever left the castle.

Napoleon turned to Illya, "Can you disable it, Wolf?"

Illya waggled a hand uncertainly. "Perhaps. But if I do, they will know. To reprogram to a false signal would need more time and tools than I have, if I could."

Napoleon looked at Gaby next. "Sparrow?"

"If Wolf can't do it, there's no way I can," Gaby archly replied. "I'm just starting to learn the basics. Plus, you still need me for the distraction."

Napoleon grimaced. The first point was more of the sale than the second – Gaby's distraction made things easier for him, but he could do it without her. If she couldn't disable the scanner, though, she couldn't. None of them exaggerated about their abilities to each other, not when it mattered.

"So," Napoleon shrugged. "Exit F."

The other two grimaced. Exit plan F was the last resort plan, which involved no finesse and a fair amount of violence and luck. Relying on plan F was not their preference. 

"Or..." Illya suggested hesitantly, "we leave prototype. Only take plans."

They considered it. It had the advantage of not straining Napoleon's abilities to both crack into a major safe and steal the prototype in the same night. They'd already considered sending Napoleon for the plans and Gaby for the prototype – that was variation plan A-2. But truth was still that Gaby was learning the ropes and while there was little doubt she could find and obtain the prototype, she was still working on being able to hide anything more complex than basic tools within her shift. Tools were a natural for her, working in the shop as she had. But the prototype was larger and more complicated. 

Gaby shook her head. "We need it as well as the plans. It's too risky to leave it."

"Destroy it, then," Illya shrugged. "Would not be first time we have destroyed things." He gave a wolfish grin that spoke to his nickname and their past.

The side of Napoleon's mouth quirked up, reveling in their shared experiences and for having them as his partners. He _liked_ having them as partners, and that said a lot about how they'd changed each other.

"If we must," Napoleon grinned still before slipping back to sobriety. "But Waverly wanted both."

"Pah, stupid scientists," Illya grumbled. "They should only need the plans." 

"But the prototype was modified from the plans. That's the whole point of this."

Gaby shifted her wings out and flew up off the stool, hovering just above them. "So we call Waverly."

Illya and Napoleon looked at each other, both somewhat startled and resigned. They were used to working independently, with contact with their bosses for updates when things went sideways, or for support, but not usually reporting in for simple adjustments. This, though, was admittedly something big enough for a contact. They probably would have talked around it for another twenty minutes before calling. Sparrow was more direct.

...

Waverly was not happy. "There are no other options?"

"Apologies, sir, but no. To get the prototype out, Illya is going to have to retrieve us. That will expose all of us." Stealth would be gone once that happened. The most favorable of scenarios would be to give the prototype and plans to Illya and then make their way out through the front with their covers intact... but the security made that unlikely.

Waverly sighed. "So far, we've managed to keep the three of you out of the limelight, at least as partners."

Both Napoleon and Illya were periodically exposed simply due to the number of years they'd been in the business, but so far nobody had matched them up as working together. Gaby was mostly unknown, though starting to gain a certain notoriety, usually in conjunction with one or the other of the boys, though sometimes on her own. This, though, would be fairly definitive for connecting them, as well as very public – at least as far as the criminal underground was concerned.

"Well, chaps, I'd been considering accepting that offer anyhow – this lends a bit of weight to it." Waverly remarked casually in his lilted accent.

Illya and Napoleon looked at each other, then both turned their gazes on Gaby, who was staring at the speaker box. She glanced up at them and shook her head slightly – she didn't know what it was either.

"Section One in North America. I'd been planning on taking you three with me... how do you fancy living in New York City?"

That was unexpected. Napoleon hadn't been back to America for a long, long time. Gaby made an eager sound, and Napoleon traded a grin with her. A grin that disappeared as he saw Illya's grim face. Illya, though, was silent.

That left Napoleon to speak for him. "Is it a good idea, sir, to bring a Russian into the United States?" Illya's accent had been modulating the more time he spent with them, but it was still fairly obvious.

Illya glanced at Napoleon, his expression still shuttered and his eyes hooded, but there was a slight softening that indicated his appreciation for the thought. 

"It'll be okay, Illya," Gaby put in, shifting the claws off her hand and reaching to cover Illya's. "There's a lot of Russians in America now."

Napoleon winced – that really wasn't the right tack, considering Illya was still in good standing with his country, and his countrymen in American had all fled it and were decidedly not. But good intentions counted with Illya, and he softened even more under Gaby's touch.

"We are an international organization," Waverly's voice reminded them of his invisible presence – and the purpose of UNCLE. "America is the land of opportunity... for criminals as well as citizens. A great deal of our troubles have been coming out of that country, in addition to sending on funding for other problems. I believe Mr. Kuryakin will be just as effective as well as Mr. Solo and Ms. Teller will be during missions." Reminding them, as well, that comfortable living wasn't their goal – stopping criminals was.

Waverly's voice became teasing. "I think, Mr. Kuryakin, that you'll find that the settler Americans like owls. You might find a warmer reception than you're expecting."

Gaby and Napoleon looked first at each other and then at Illya, raising their eyebrows in near-identical queries. 

Illya took his hand back from Gaby, and looked away from both of them. "I will go where I am told, Mr. Waverly. Do not be concerned for me."

"Oh, I'm not, dear boy. I'm not." Waverly's voice was bright and cheerful. "Yes, yes. The more I think on this, the better I'm liking it. Go ahead with your plans, dear chaps. We'll adapt. Just bring back the blueprints _and_ the prototype."

The communicator crackled and then went silent, the connection cut off.

They communed with the silence of the communicator for a little while, each caught up in their own thoughts. 

Napoleon finally broke it, speaking in aggravated tones. "Settler Americans?"

Gaby giggled and Illya almost smiled. "Waverly _is_ British, after all." "Very British."

"It's been almost two hundred years!" Napoleon threw up his hands.

"Says the man named after the reason the British did not retake America," Illya remarked dryly. 

Napoleon gave him a dirty look. His name hadn't meant much in America, other than being odd and unusual, but here in Europe, his Russian Wolf didn't fail to needle him at every opportunity with the associations. 

"And owls are supposed to be so wise!" Napoleon rejoined fiercely.

Instantly, Illya shut down, turning remote and withdrawn. 

Involuntarily, Napoleon glanced to Illya's hands, and he noted how the index finger was quivering.

Gaby frowned at Napoleon but didn't try and gentle Illya down. They were relatively safe within their rental, with the three of them there together. And it was something two of them had long been curious about.

"Why don't you like being an owl?" Gaby pushed it. "Owls are fine birds, and they're Athena's friend."

Illya rolled his eyes. "That is one myth of owl, one only. Greeks were not all to everybody. Most cultures regard owl as death bringers, in every land."

Napoleon watched carefully, but Illya was undisturbed by saying it. It was true enough, but that wasn't the problem. It was, though, more than they'd gotten out of him before. Usually he shut down completely and didn't respond to their needling or even gentler probing. 

No Russian Napoleon had asked about owls had ever answered him, correctly assuming it had something to do with one of their compatriots and not willing to give him any ammunition. It was frustrating but Napoleon had been willing to give it time. Time which they apparently were out of, if even Waverly was remarking on it.

"And what," Napoleon softly asked, "do Russians think of owls?"

The tapping of the finger went a little faster, and there was the hint of claws around the fingers, the closest Illya would typically ever get to half-shifts.

Then Illya really did shift. His body blurred from human and resettled into a great eagle owl perched upon the stool, his huge talons curled around the edge. He blinked his orange eyes at them and silently stared.

Illya might not like his owl form, but Napoleon loved it. The beige and light brown mottled feathers, the tufts by the ears... oh those tufts! Even the unusual eyes. It was all powerful and unusual, beauty and strength combined in one being, much like his human form. 

Involuntarily, Napoleon followed the shift, going to full Steller's jay, even as Gaby also shifted to her rufous hummingbird. They stayed on their own stools, watching Illya and waiting for him.

Illya remained quiet with the patience of the predator, and the other two waited some more. They tried not to feel too much like prey under the unblinking gaze of the great eagle owl. This was still Illya, and he was always a predator in any form, but they were never his prey.

Before Gaby's patience wore out, Illya finally spoke. "Owls are stupid."

Gaby and Napoleon looked at each other and then back at Illya. 

That was it? Exasperation was clear in Napoleon's voice as he stated firmly. "You are not."

Illya lifted up his wings. "I know this." His voice was matter of fact.

"You have _two_ degrees and are working on a third!" Gaby spoke indignantly. 

"I know this as well."

"You have an International Master Elo rating!"

The orange eyes were covered briefly as Illya closed his lids. "Yes." He opened them again and spread his wings wide. "Regardless. Owl is blind in the day, and does not pay attention. Stupid." The wide wings folded in again. "In Ukraine, they are wise, like Greek. But that is not Russia." There was a wry hint of humor in Illya's voice. "Russia is very definite."

Napoleon filed the side remark about Ukraine along with the humor inside his mental catalog of finding more out about his partner. Then he moved on to needling him. "Is it any worse than a hummingbird in Germany?"

"Or growing up with a name of Napoleon?" Gaby fired back, proving she was on the same page.

"I know this," Illya repeated, clicking his beak in slight annoyance. "It has been years. It is no problem."

There were some things people grew up and grew beyond. There were other things that stuck around. Illya was not only an owl, he was the son of an owl, a traitor's child, and the youngest KGB. Napoleon supposed all that might have been more traumatizing than just having an unusual name. He didn't think it outweighed Gaby's experiences, but her specialty was survival and adaptation. Illya tended to be more straight-forward, for all his spy experience. More settled. Gaby adapted, Illya endured. It was very them. It probably also explained why Illya hadn't talked about it to them before. He was ashamed – not of being an owl anymore, but for letting the past affect him so. 

Napoleon shifted to his half form, his blue crest raised and his wings settled. "It doesn't matter," he said softly, as sincerely as he could, and hoping it didn't sound mocking or trivial. He wasn't very good at the serious things, preferring to stay on the side of sarcasm and remoteness. But Illya mattered.

Gaby followed his lead, shifting with her hummingbird wings out and her bright orange and green plumage a complementary accessory to her human dark hair and pale arms. "You are ours," she stated definitively, her possessiveness overriding everything else, allowing Napoleon as part of that claim, but nothing else.

Illya huffed a laugh, then shifted. 

The others watched, amazed, as Illya didn't shift back to human, but rather went to a half-form. His giant wings stretched out behind his human body, his feathers blending with his skin, his ear tufts perked and upright, and his eyes mostly human but shaded orange. 

Gaby moved first, darting into Illya's arms. Napoleon followed, Illya lifting an arm to fit Napoleon in next to Gaby. Then he brought his wings around, folding them in an arch over them. Gaby and Napoleon folded theirs to their backs, in deference to Illya's need. He had always been the most protective of all of them, needing the reassurance of touching and holding them. Occasionally Napoleon found it stifling, and he suspected Gaby did as well, but they put up with it for Illya. At moments like this, it was the binding that all of them craved. 

... ... ...

The inside of the castle of Ravillo was rich and decadent. Excesses in evidence everywhere. The carpets were soft and plush, if tempered to allow for less catching of claws in the knots. Tapestries lined the walls, with old paintings in the spots between. Chandeliers sparkled with freshly cleaned crystals and candles on all branches. 

Allowances had been made for the variety of nature forms that would be present, with the grand ballroom decked out with lounges, pillows, fancy stools, and perches, while chairs weren't to be seen. The cats lounged, the dogs lolled, the birds perched, the reptiles curled around what they felt comfortable with. Other species found what they could.

For as many exotic and unusual species that the Conte had collected for his nature party, Napoleon and Gaby still stood out. Napoleon's vibrant blue plumage with his striking black head crest turned gazes towards them, where their attention then stayed upon the sparkling companion next to him. Gaby's coloration was not as bright as a male hummingbird's would have been, but it was still attention-getting, with her narrow long beak requiring a second look as well. They weren't yet captivated by her, but she hadn't yet flown for them. Napoleon had done this on purpose, getting there unfashionably early and setting himself and Gaby up in a prominent location in the ballroom.

From there, he held court, flirting with the ladies, letting the men come to cautiously explore Gaby's sharp wit. Napoleon would occasionally fly to the banquet, leaving Gaby in place, and returning with food for him and pollen for Gaby. 

The Conte benevolently allowed Napoleon the prominence and watched the stream of visitors. His own image, of course, benefited from the more unusual and interesting of natures at the party, and Napoleon had promised him a special treat.

When there were enough people there in their various forms to term the party a crush, Gaby met Napoleon's eyes, then she stretched out her wings. There was a brief quiet from around them as the crowd looked. A hummingbird's wings were not like any other birds' wings.

Then she flew.

The ballroom quieted, attention drawing in groups up to where Gaby flew. Then the sound swelled again, people riveted to the unusual. Some other birds flew up to see if they could catch or emulate her, with none succeeding.

Napoleon waited until the Conte had returned his attention to Napoleon and given him a nod of approval, acknowledgement of his promise fulfilled. Then the Conte's attention returned to the heights, and Napoleon slipped out.

In one of his supply foragings earlier, Napoleon had established that the prototype was still in the library and the library open. The Conte was apparently counting on the party to be its own security – there were so many more obvious valuables out and displayed. 

He headed for the safe first. That would take the most work, and determine how much or how little time he had for the other. 

The guards were rather easily slipped by. Napoleon didn't think much of them. He had to admit that the party was a distraction in itself, but they still should have been better. Well, the safe was going to be enough of a challenge, he didn't need more.

Some time later, plans tucked in his human jacket and then shifted over, Napoleon did a quick run by the ballroom to take a flight with Gaby and let his blue be seen again. Then he let himself be cut out for another flight, the avians all eager to try out their flights with the hummingbird. 

The prototype really was a bit much. 

Napoleon came out of the ballroom compulsively swallowing. His shift was holding, but only barely. His flight was a little shaky as well. Hopefully it would be attributed to drinking or eating the wrong thing at the party. Shifted forms often weren't as tolerant of a range of foods as their human forms were.

Gaby saw him at the door and flew to meet him. They did a brief air tango, then left the ballroom. There were some sounds of disappointment, but overall it was accepted. They were both birds, after all. Mixing was more commonly done in human or half forms, when the parts matched up, but people pushed the envelopes at nature parties.

Upstairs on a balcony, the castle lights blinded them to the outside. There were stars somewhere above, and a landscape out beyond the walls, but all they could see was the glamour of the marble columns and smoothed railing, the statues in the corners and a bench to one side. 

Napoleon hiccupped, wavering a little. Gaby pushed her body next to his, stabilizing him.

There was a soft hooting sound of _ooh-hu_ that managed to carry across the land without being too noticeable.

Napoleon pulled himself together and raised a blue wing. As vertigo took him again, Napoleon quickly brought it back in and tucked both close to his back. With a feeling of relief, he got ready to shift.

A loud siren split the quiet of the night, and alarms rang through the building. 

"Well, that tears it," Napoleon sighed. "I wonder which they missed – the plans or the prototype?" He hiccupped again.

"Missed an alarm, again, Magpie?" Gaby asked archly, maneuvering to continue support.

"Hardly," Napoleon sniffed. Make a mistake just once...

A bear opened the balcony door and looked out at them. "Everything okay here?"

"Just fine," Gaby replied.

In the shifted world, size was not what it was in nature. Their animal forms normalized to their human ones, with more things equal than among their native counterparts. Gaby was still small, and Illya very large, but so were they as humans – both bigger as birds than in the wild. This made for different dynamics and fighting styles. A native bear was a ferocious beast in the wild. As a shifted, things were slightly more equal. 

They held off, though, keeping to their covers in the hope they would be left alone. 

"The Conte wants everybody inside, back to the ballroom," the bear recited blandly, his gaze scanning around. He obviously didn't suspect them. 

But they couldn't go back in. If they had had time, Napoleon could have divested himself of the prototype and left it for Illya. As usual, though, nothing was that smooth.

The bear turned his attention to them, alerted by them not moving. "If you please," he said, polite enough but more demanding.

Napoleon gave up the attempt to stay in shape and shifted to his half form, wings out and behind him, while he held the prototype in his arms. "Hi," he smiled at the guard.

Gaby moved slightly away, bringing her wings out and preparing to rise up into the air. 

The bear's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward.

Without a sound, a large shape dropped from the air. Large talons grabbed the bear, picking him up briefly, then let him go, tumbling him across the balcony. Gaby darted in, ferociously attacking with her narrow beak, her flight patterns allowing her quick movements in and out, keeping the bear down.

Involuntarily, Napoleon shifted to his soldier's form, that of a fisher hawk, though he stayed in half-shift. The native prey might be water-based, but as a shifter, he made this form work for him for fighting. He started forward to help, then stopped, the prototype more valuable than the fight.

Between Gaby and Illya, though, the bear was quickly subdued and tied up. It hadn't been expecting it, and from such unusual attacks. 

"We go," Illya rumbled from a perch on the balcony rail, the words mingling with an owl's hoot. He reached out with a talon and took the prototype from Napoleon and then launched himself into the air. Gaby dropped quickly down and dug her claws into Illya's feathers between his wings, hitching a ride. 

Napoleon watched for a moment longer, enjoying the sight, then he shifted the rest of the way to osprey and followed them into the air.

There was a brief tussle with the guards by the walls, and the airborne defenses there, but Illya had already disabled or incapacitated the main ones and they got out clean.

They continued to fly for awhile, not so much laying a false path as simply enjoying the flight. 

Once away from the castle, Napoleon and Gaby were mostly night-blind, but Illya could see perfectly well, and they were with him. Gaby riding on his back, her form nearly obscured by his feathers, and Napoleon behind and slightly to one side, keeping up easily and watching the great eagle owl. He loved watching Illya in flight.

Finally, they came to rest in the woods near their rented house. Gaby took off before Illya landed, shifting to her half form and retrieving the prototype from him, leaving Illya's large talons free to clasp around a tree limb. Napoleon landed next to him, shifting back to his jay form, then again to half form, leaning against Illya's strong warmth.

The three grinned at each other, another successful mission under their feathers. 

"On to America?" Gaby asked, eager for another new experience, as long as her flock accompanied her.

Illya shifted to half-form, reaching out to smooth Napoleon's hair where it blended with his feathers. "America," he agreed, his orange eyes wide but calm. "Home, Magpie?"

Napoleon shrugged. "Home is with a wolf and a sparrow, wherever we might go. America is as good as any."

That got him some rewards where they were, with a promise of more to come.

* * *

  
  


_(Illustration by Tainry ^_^)_

**Author's Note:**

> Illustration awesomely provided by the talented Tainry. I was afraid that words along wouldn't do them justice and Tainry provided the thousand words extra, as well as beta.
> 
> * * *
> 
> Napoleon:  
> \- Steller's Jay. A striking blue bird, with dark head and crest. Very highly intelligent, a bold and aggressive species. Has a reputation for cleverness, an adept problem solver.
> 
> Gaby:  
> \- Rufous Hummingbird. Fierce and bold, very territorial. Feistiest of all hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have wings that allow hovering and backwinging, unique among birds. 
> 
> Illya:  
> \- Russian Eagle Owl. One of the largest of all owls, a deadly apex predator. Orange eyes are distinctive and the pupils respond uncommonly fast to light changes, allowing for great vision at night, and has been known to hunt during the day as well.
> 
>   
>    
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> * * *


End file.
